Hampers



M. SILVERMAN Nov. 2, 1965 HAMPERS Filed July 13, 1964 INVENTOR, Max SHvermcn,

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,215,182 HAMPERS Max Silverman, 3850 Sedgwick Ave., Bronx, N.Y.

Filed July 13, 1964, Ser. No. 382,269

12 Claims. (Cl. 150-51) The present invention relates to hampers and more particularly to the type in which a raised horizontal ring member supported on a stand or other framework, holds the mouth rim of a distended upright sack.

These hampers are useful for example, in post ofiice mail-sorting operations, laundries and other places in industry where a supply of articles to be worked on, is near a standing operator to dig his hand into. It is evident that articles at-the top region of the sack are readily accessible, but as the load is being depleted, inconvenience increases, the deeper it becomes necessary to reach down int-o the sack to get at its contents.

Various attempts have heretofore been made to bring the sack contents to mouth region by having the sack stand on a liftable platform. But these have proven objectionable because of the cost of the elevator mechanism for dealing with heavy loads and for the reason that the sack bulges and folds occur in which letters and small articles are caught and covered, only to be discovered after the platform is lowered again, thus making it necessary to reach way down into the sack to get them. i It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a novel and improved hamper of the character aforementioned, in which the sacks wall, in the main, remains taut, does not bulge to form folds to cache any of the sack contents when the sacks bottom is brought to mouth region.

Another object thereof is to provide a novel and improved hamper construction of the kind set forth, in which the sack can of course serve as one large compartment and can be arranged as a two-compartment hamper whenever desired.

A further object is to provide a novel and improved hamper of the category described, in which the sacklifting means which brings the sacks bottom wall towards its mouth, is simple, relatively cheap and capable of dealing with quite heavy loads and yet is convenient for manual operation.

Still a further. object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved hamper having the attributes set forth, which is simple in structure, reasonable in cost,

easy to manipulate and efiicient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For one practice of this invention, a distended sack of generally rectangular prismatic shape is suspended from a horizontally supported rectangular ring; the bottom wall of said sack having a bar secured across it, midway between a pair of opposite sack walls. Inside such sack, ropes are attached to each of the bar ends respectively and extend upwardly respectively associated in separate tackle means, then through releasable cord locks mounted at rim region of the sack, from which said ropes hang down outside the sack. These locks serve to hold the bar in any raised position. If desired, each of said ropes, outside the sack, may have a stirrup adjustably attached thereto.

A more detailed description of construction and mode of operation will now be set forth.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hamper embodying teachings of this invention. Here, the sack is fully distended.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the distended sack with part thereof broken away to expose the bar.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the hamper structure shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic perspective view, drawn to the reduced scale of FIG. 2, showing the condition the sack assumes when its bar is in raised position; all bar control means being omitted to simplify the illustration.

In the drawing, the numeral 15 designates generally a hamper in which a sack, indicated generally by the numeral 16, is suspended within an open framework denoted generally by the numeral 17. Said sack is of rectangular prismatic shape, preferably slightly tapered downwardly a bit, and along its mouth rim zone is pro vided with spaced eyelets arranged in vertically spaced rows, so the eyelets 18 of one row are in vertical alignment with the eyelets 18' of the other row. The frame 17 comprises a series of upright bars 19 associating an upper rectangular ring 20 and a lower similar ring 21, which latter may be the edging for a platform 22 provided with casters 23. The sack is within this frame and is suspended from the upper ring 20 by a rope 24 laced through mating eyelets 18, 18' which register when the mouth rim of the sack is bent outwardly downwardly to form a cuff 25. Of course, the ends of said rope 24 are secured (not shown) to maintain the assembly. The bottom wall of the sack has a bar 26 secured across it midway between the opposite walls 27, 27. Inside the sack, one end of a rope 28 is attached to one end of said bar 26, forms a tackle means in association with the pulleys 29, 30, then passes through a releasable cord lock 31 from where it passes over a saddle 32 straddling the hampers mouth rim and hangs down outside the sack. Similarly, another rope 28 is attached to the other end of said bar, forms a tackle means in association with a similar'arrangement of pulleys, only 29 of which is shown, then passes through the releasable cord lock 31' from where it passes over the saddle 32' and hangs down outside the sack.

In the use of this hamper 15 for instance by a post office mail-sorting clerk, where it is laden with a few hundred pounds of letters or packages 33, the tackle assemblies indicated generally by the numerals 34, 34, give mechanical advantage to facilitate lifting the load in the sack when the ropes 28, 28 are pulled to raise the bar 26, whereupon the sack 16 will assume the condition shown as 16' in FIG. 4. The sack contents are thus brought nearer to the sacks mouth and the sack itself is automatically divided into two adjacent, open-top compartments 35 and 35'. It is evident that the hamper can be used initially as a two-compartment structure to hold two dif ferent supplies of things for use by a machine operator in a factory.

Each of the saddles 32, 32, made of heavy sheet metal and riveted to the sack 16, has eyes as 36, 37 for attachment of the swivel eye of the pulley 29 and the hail of the rope lock thereat. Any releasable rope lock may be used here. The ones shown are of a type well known in commerce, of which it is suflice to sa ythat a slight withdrawal of the spring-biased tubular member 38 out of the locks outer .body, the rope positioned through said member is released and when such member is let go to return to its normal rest position, the cord is engaged by steel balls in a chuck-like manner when said balls are made to approach each other in the frusto-conical section 39 of the locks body, illustration of which is believed unnecessary. To further facilitate the lifting of the load, the foot may be used in a stirrup as 40 attached to a cord lock as 41 on each of the outer portions of the ropes 28, 28', respectively.

To use the hamper 15, start with it in the distended condition shown in FIG. 1 and fill it for instance with mail or other articles it is to carry. Every time the load is depleted to the extent that would make it inconvenient to get to the contents, raise the bar 26 by releasing the rope 28 from its lock 31 by pulling said rope until the end of the bar it is associated with is raised sufliciently to bring the load to the sacks mouth. Then do the same to the rope 28'. These ropes may be pulled by the use of a foot in a stirrup. When -a stirrup is forced down, it is then released by holding the rope it is on, below the lock on such rope and then raising said lock on such rope sulficiently to make ready for the next manipulation by foot power applied to the stirrup.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired that the embodiment shown herein shall be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific showing and description herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a hamper of the character described, a frame including a raised horizontally positioned ring, a sack; the mouth rim of said sack being mounted on said ring whereby the sack depends therefrom in extended condition, a bar secured across the bottom of said sack, means for raising said bar in a substantially vertical plane, to the region of said mouth and means to releasably hold said bar in a raised position whereby the sack is formed into two adjacent open-top compartments; the walls of one of said compartments being formed of the body portion of the sack which depends from one side of said bar and from the ring portion to said one side of the bar, and the walls of the other of said compartments being formed of the body portion of the sack which depends from the other side of said bar and from the ring portion to said other side of said bar.

2. A hamper as defined in claim 1, wherein the means for releasably holding said bar in a raised position is located at the mouth rim region of the sack.

3. A hamper as defined in claim 1, wherein the sack has a bottom wall and said bar is across said wall.

4. A hamper as defined in claim 3, wherein said bottom wall of the sack is substantially rectangular and said bar is across the center region of said wall and parallel to a pair of opposite edges of said wall.

5. In a hamper of the character described, a frame including a raised horizontally positioned ring, a sack; the mouth rim of said sack being mounted on said ring whereby the sack depends therefrom in extended condition, an elongated bar secured across the bottom of said sack, a

first means for raising one end of said bar, a second means to releasably hold said one end in a raised position, a third means for raising the other end of said bar and a fourth means to releasably hold said other end in a raised position; the path of movement of said bar being substantially in a vertical plane whereby when both ends of said bar are raised, the said sack will be formed into two adjacent open-top compartments; the walls of one of said compartments being formed of the .body portion of the sack which depends from one side of said bar and from the ring portion to said one side of said bar, and the walls of the other of said compartments being formed of the body portion of the sack which depends from the other side of said bar and from the ring portion to said other side of said bar.

6. A hamper as defined in claim 5, wherein each of the second and fourth means is a cord lock mounted at the mouth rim region of the sack.

7. A hamper as defined in claim 5, wherein the sack has a bottom wall and said bar is across said wall.

8. A hamper as defined in claim 7, wherein said bottom wall of the sack is substantially rectangular and said bar is across the center region of said wall and parallel to a pair of opposite edges of said wall.

9. A hamper as defined in claim 5, wherein each of the first and third means includes a pulley mounted at the mouth rim region of the sack respectively above the ends of said bar and a rope; said ropes being guided on said pulleys respectively and one end of each of said ropes being attached to the respective ends of said bar.

10. A hamper as defined in claim 9, wherein the portions of said ropes terminating in the ends which are attached to said bar are inside the sack and the portions of said ropes terminating in the other ends thereof are outside the sack.

11. A hamper as defined in claim 9, including pulleys carried respectively on the ends of said bar; each rope and the pulleys thereat being associated to form a tackle means; the portions of said ropes which terminate in the other ends of said ropes, being outside the sack.

12. A hamper as defined in claim 11, including stirrups each of which carries a cord lock releasably engaging said exterior portions of said ropes respectively.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,013,782 9/35 .McElmoyl -5l 3,158,876 12/64 Gottlieb 5-99 3,162,865 1 2/64 Tigrett 5-98 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. 

1. IN A HAMPER OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, A FRAME INCLUDING A RAISED HORIZONTALLY POSITIONED RING, A SACK; THE MOUTH RIM OF SAID SACK BEING MOUNTED ON SAID RING WHEREBY THE SACK DEPENDS THEREFROM IN EXTENDED CONDITION, A BAR SECURED ACROSS THE BOTTOM OF SAID SACK, MEANS FOR RAISING SAID BAR IN A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL PLANE, TO THE REGION OF SAID MOUTH AND MEANS TO RELEASABLY HOLD SAID BAR IN A RAISED POSITION WHEREBY THE SACK IS FORMED INTO TWO ADJACENT OPEN-TOP COMPARTMENTS; THE WALLS OF ONE OF SAID COMPARTMENTS BEING FORMED OF THE BODY PORTION OF THE SACK WHICH DEPENDS FROM ONE SIDE OF SAID BAR AND FROM THE RING PORTION TO SAID ONE SIDE OF THE BAR, AND THE WALLS OF THE OTHER OF SAID COMPARTMENTS BEING FORMED OF THE 